A Change of Direction
by Amz-HPfan
Summary: What if someone noticed Harry didn't know what he should? What if they said something to Harry about it? Takes place the morning after the First Year Sorting. AU Story. Most Ancient & Most Noble Houses. Possibly SuperPower. More than likely not for Ron/Ginny/Molly/Dumbledore fans. Mostly Harry POV but occasionally others as well. Rated M to be safe.
1. Chapter 1: Confusion

**Chapter 1: Confusion**

**A/N:** What if someone noticed Harry didn't know what he should? What if they said something to Harry about it? Takes place the morning after the First Year Sorting. AU Story. Most Ancient & Most Noble Houses. Possibly SuperPower. More than likely not for Ron/Ginny/Molly/Dumbledore fans. Mostly Harry POV but occasionally others as well. Rated M to be safe. I apologise here and now if you see anything from other fanfictions in this story. I do not intend to steal anything, but I have read so many that some stuff may bleed over into this story. So, credit goes to whomever it came from. Please note that I am not from England so i am sorry if anything is incorrect.

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Neville Longbottom woke up on the 2nd of September, the morning after his first night at Hogwarts. He was excited and nervous about starting school. He had not expected to be invited to Hogwarts, because he had not done much accidental magic growing up. Until he was eight and his Uncle Algie had dropped him out of a second story window and he'd bounced, he had thought himself a squib. His grandmother had been Furious, with a capital F, when she had found out what his Uncle had done.

It had surprised Neville as he didn't think his Gran would be so upset. His Gran noticed his surprise and it seemed to upset her more. So, after dealing with Algie, she had called Neville to her office and apologised to him. She had explained that, while it wasn't a good excuse, after he and his parents were attacked, she had been scared. Scared that she would lose him too. So, in an effort to keep him safe she had neglected to show him love. She had not realised until that point what she had done. They had talked for a while and really gotten to know each other. From that point on she had sat him down for a couple of hours every weekday and started to teach him what he would need to know to one day be Lord of the Longbottom family.

When he had gotten his Hogwarts letter, he and his Gran had both been ecstatic, though his Gran had also been sad that he would be going away to school for 10 months of the year. They had gone to Diagon Alley and got everything on the supply list, including a brand-new wand. That had been interesting. His Gran had actually taken him into Knockturn Alley. She told him that, while yes there was a lot of illegal things down there, it was mostly at night (though not always) and that there were some useful shops down there as well. She had sternly told him in no uncertain terms not to ever go down there on his own while he was underage. She had taken him to a wand store called "Devlin's Custom Wands", where he had gotten his own custom wand made. It was amazing and made his magic sing. His Gran latter explained that while Ollivander's was a good shop, pre-made wands would not word as well for a witch or wizard than a custom wand.

The rest of the summer had been full of lessons with his Gran, which he really enjoyed, gardening in the Longbottom Greenhouses and flicking through his Hogwarts books, though he didn't actually read them all the way through, except the Herbology textbook, that one he read through, though it was a lot more basic than the Herbology books he normally read and he didn't learn any new information that he didn't already know.

On the train he had been nervous and excited. He had been joined in his compartment by a muggleborn girl by the name of Hermione Granger. She seemed nice, if a bit bossy. They got talking about pets at one point and Neville said he'd left his toad, Trevor, at home in the greenhouses. He told her that Trevor liked to eat the insects that the plants attracted, which helped keep them away from the plants.

He had been excited to be sorted into Gryffindor as he had honestly not expected to go there, he had been expecting Hufflepuff. Not that there was anything wrong with any of the houses, he just hadn't thought he was brave enough for Gryffindor. But apparently, he was.

It was while they were eating dinner, he started to notice something that bothered him. Harry Potter, who was sitting with Ronald Weasley, was slouched down just pushing his food around his plate. He had seen him at the beginning of the meal when the food first arrived, he had stuffed himself, not in the messy, disgusting way Ron Weasley was, but still he had eaten very fast. Now he looked a bit ill. Neville frowned, wondering why Harry had done that. It was as if he was afraid the food would be taken away from him or something.

_Maybe I'll talk to him about it. _He thought to himself. In his lessons with his Gran, he had learned more about the Potter/Longbottom alliance. He had known about it before but not in detail. His Gran had told him that for as long as could be remembered, for as long as the records of their families went (which was a very long time), the Potter's and the Longbottom's had been allies. There was always a Longbottom by a Potter's side and Neville intended to live up to that. He would stand by Harry Potter. Not just because of that, and not at all because he was the Boy-Who-Lived, but also because of something else his Gran had told him… They were God Brothers. Harry's mum, Lily, was Neville's Godmother and Neville's mum, Alice, was Harry's Godmother.

As he lay there in bed the morning after the feast, he wondered why Harry had not acknowledged him the night before. He had completely disregarded the greetings meant to be seen between the Most Ancient & Most Noble Houses, of which he and Harry were a part of. He was determined to find out why. From his observations he had already come to a conclusion he hoped was wrong…. that Harry was completely unaware of his place in Magical Society. If that was the case… well… someone had some explaining to do and Harry needed a new Magical Guardian, since his current one didn't seem to be doing their job.

He resolved to pull Harry aside on the weekend, when they would have time to talk, and ask him if he knew of his Legacy.


	2. Chapter 2: Harry's Life

**A/N:** Thank you for the Reviews so far. I wasn't expecting any so fast. I have been asked if this would be a Harry/Hermione pairing. Yes, that is the plan. Also I have been informed that the Hogwarts year is 10 months, not 9, I have fixed this. Thanks. I live in Australia so our school year is a bit different and also I haven't been in school since 2006.

**A/N: **Here's a bonus chapter. I don't know what my update schedule will be as I have a full time job but I will try my best. Thanks for reading.

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**Chapter 2:** Harry's Life

Harry James Potter woke up on the 2nd of September and momentarily forgot where he was. It took him a moment to remember not only the night before, but the last month. As he lay there he thought back through his life.

He lived with the Dursley's, his Aunt Petunia, who was his mother's sister, his Uncle Vernon and his cousin, Dudley. For as long as he could remember the Dursley's had made it known that they did not like him at all. He had no idea why at the time. Sure sometimes weird things happened around him, but as far as he knew it was never anything dangerous, turning a teachers hair blue, disappearing and reappearing on the school roof when Dudley, his cousin, and his gang were chasing him trying to beat him up, things coming to him when he really wanted them. Sure maybe the roof one might have been a bit dangerous but only to himself.

When he was about 3 years old his aunt started him doing chores. As the years went by the chores got more and more until he was doing pretty much all the jobs around the house, including cooking, cleaning, gardening and anything else his Aunt and Uncle could think up. He was dressed in his cousins hand me downs and didn't get much to eat, even after he started cooking, though once he started being left alone to cook he could get a bit more without his relatives noticing.

His Aunt and Uncle were verbally abusive, he knew, but not so much physically. The most physical they got with him was when his Uncle drags and throws him in his cupboard or that one time his Aunt hit him with the frying pan. But apart from those it was mostly verbal. Things such as calling him 'Freak' and 'Boy', rather than his name. He hadn't known his name was 'Harry' until he started school. Also the horrible comments about his parents. He wasn't sure he believed their story about his parents dying in a car crash and it being where his scar came from. His scar was a very distinct lightning bolt shape, he didn't think it could be caused by a car crash but he wasn't completely sure.

When he started school at the age of five, he found a love to learn and read. When he brought home his report card at the end of the term, which had extremely good grades, he had hoped that his Aunt and Uncle might like him a little more, but it was the complete opposite. He had been yelled at and called every name under the sun, the most common being a 'cheat'. While he was extremely upset it was the point that he gave up. He gave up on getting his relatives approval. He would do well, despite what the Dursley's said, because of something his teacher had said on the first day of classes.

**-Flashback-**

Harry sat at his desk, glad not to be in Dudley's class. The school had a policy in place where they tried to separate siblings (or cousins that lived together) to lessen distraction. So Dudley and Harry were in separate classes.

After the embarrassment of not answering to his name because he didn't know it, though he didn't say that, the teacher had started a lecture.

"Now children, quiet down please. My name is Ms. Fitzgerald. I will be your teacher for the whole school year." She began. "I know starting school can be daunting for some, but I am here if you need me. I ask that you do your best in classes from the start, as the better your school work ethic, the better chance you have of getting into university and/or getting a good job. It is best to start early in this, rather than to start too late."

From there she went on to outline the rules and everything else that the students needed to know.

**-End Flashback- **

After hearing that Harry was determined to do well so he could get a good job when he finished school. He could put up with being called a cheat if it meant a better chance of getting away from the Dursley's easily. He needed money to get away, which meant he would need a good job. So that's what he did. Every term he got yelled at for cheating but every term he still did his best and read ahead. It had been suggested him skipping a grade but the Dursley's had flat out refused. So Harry just read what he could and his teachers gave him the most advanced work they could.

Dudley and his friends tried to torment him and play 'Harry Hunting' whenever they could but it wasn't often because the teachers put a stop to it pretty quick if they saw it. Harry's Aunt and Uncle had tried to spread the same lies with the teachers as they had with their neighborhood, that Harry was a troublemaker, but the teachers didn't just believe them, they watched and saw that he wasn't and even if he was, they would still put a stop to any bullying. Though Dudley and his gang and managed to make sure Harry didn't have friends without the teachers finding out for the most part, there was a few times they were noticed and got in trouble but that didn't deter them. But Harry didn't mind much, sure it would be nice to have friends but there wasn't much he could do as he didn't want to put a target on other kids.

The years had slowly passed. Harry had found a love for cooking, though he'd never let his relatives know or they might make him stop cooking or worse, somehow make him hate it. It was the only chore he really liked, though he didn't mind gardening. Dudley left him alone when he was cooking because he had learned pretty fast that him annoying Harry while he was cooking meant he, Dudley, had to wait longer for his food.

The whole debacle with his Hogwarts letters had been odd. But it all worked out in the end. Hagrid had taken him to Diagon Alley. He had been intrigued by the Goblins at Gringotts, he wanted to learn more about them and their culture. They looked after Harry's money and so he thought it was a good idea to learn about them. Griphook, the Goblin that had taken them down to the vaults, had tried to talk to him about something but Hagrid had interrupted and Harry had never found out what Griphook had wanted. He had not had another chance to go to Diagon Alley to find out but he was really curious about what it was.

The rest of the trip through the Alley had been amazing, all the new and wonderful things. Unfortunately Hagrid had not let him get anything extra than what was on his list. He hoped to go back at some point to have a better look around.

On the 1st of September his Uncle had dropped him off and with a parting comment, left him on the curb. He'd ran into the red head family who had helped him onto the platform, Hagrid hadn't told him how to get onto the platform before he left him at his relatives. He ended up in a compartment with the youngest boy, Ron. He wasn't really sure how he felt about the other boy. He was loud, which wasn't really a bad thing Harry supposed and a just a bit rude. His question about whether Harry had the scar bothered Harry, sure these kids had grown up hearing his story according to Hagrid, but that should mean they knew his parents died that night as well. It had upset him when Hagrid told him the true story. Sure he didn't remember much of his parents but that didn't me that he missed them any less. So Ron's question and upset him. He still showed Ron the scar though, in the hopes that it would be the end of it but Harry got the feeling it wouldn't be, not with Ron's response of "Wicked!".

The rest of the journey passed quickly. He reluctantly shared his haul from the cart lady with Ron, not that he had much choice, considering Ron just grabbed things and started eating them without asking and Harry didn't feel comfortable telling him to stop. Harry had brought a large amount of sweets with the intent of putting most in his trunk for later, as he was curious about wizarding sweets. He had quickly put what he could in his trunk while Ron was busy with a chocolate frog card. Ron hadn't been too happy when he looked up and found all the sweets gone. He tried to get more from Harry but Harry changed to subject to Ron's family, then Hermione Granger had come by to introduce herself after seeing Ron with his wand out trying to turn his rat yellow and Draco Malfoy had come to introduce himself and that had thankfully distracted Ron enough that he forgot about the sweets.

When they got to the station the first years followed Hagrid to the boats. Harry had frowned when Ron shoved another student away to sit next to him. Harry really wasn't sure he was liking Ron Weasley, he was reminding him a lot of Dudley and his bullying ways.

During his sorting the Sorting Hat had deliberated all the Houses for Harry, Slytherin, Hufflepuff & Ravenclaw had been considered before the Hat had decided Gryffindor would suit him best. He had been happy that he was in his parents old House but he wouldn't have minded the others either. Sitting there watching Ron eat, potatoes down the front of his robes, food all around his mouth rather than in it, stuffing more and more in seemingly without breathing, he thought maybe another House would have been better.

As he lay there the morning of 2nd of September, he was excited to learn new things.


	3. Chapter 3: Let's Talk

**A/N:** It's just after 2am but this chapter would not leave me alone, so here you go, I hope you enjoy.

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**Chapter 3:** Let's Talk

Harry was sitting in the Common Room not long after waking up. There had been no point in trying to get back to sleep, not with Ron the chainsaw. Damn that boy could snore. So he had gotten up, showered and got ready for the day, before heading down to the Common Room with a book, seeing as it was only just after 5am.

_I need to find out if there's a spell to stop the noise if I want to get good sleep._ He thought to himself.

He was so absorbed that he didn't notice when someone joined him in the Common Room.

* * *

Neville heard the dorm door shut softly and sat up to peek out his beds curtains. He noticed that Harry's bed curtains were open and his bed was empty. He noted it was only a little after 5am but could understand Harry getting up, what with Ron's loud snoring, he had been considering giving up on sleep and getting up as well.

_Maybe I can speak to him now, before anyone else gets up. _He thought to himself as he got up and headed for the showers after grabbing his stuff. Once he was done he headed out of the dorm room towards the Common Room.

He entered and looked around the Common Room, spotting Harry reading a book in front of the fire. He moved over and sat in an armchair next to Harry, gathered his nerves and cleared his throat.

* * *

Harry startled a bit when he heard someone clear their throat near him. He looked up and spotted Neville Longbottom.

"Hi Neville." Harry said to the boy.

"Hi Harry." Neville replied as he nervously twisted his hands together in his lap. He quickly stopped when he realized what he was doing. He felt his cheeks go red as he looked at Harry and saw that he had seen.

"Are you ok Neville?" Harry asked him.

"Ah… Yea… I wanted to ask you something." Neville replied.

"Oh?" Harry said looking at the other boy curiously.

Taking a deep breath Neville decided just to blurt it out. "Do you know about our Legacy?" He asked.

"My what?" Harry was confused. He didn't know what Neville meant with that question?

"The Potter Legacy?" Neville said, feeling certain now that Harry had no idea. "The Potters are one of the oldest families in the Wizarding World. They are part of the sacred 28. The families that came together to form the Wizengamot and helped shape Magical Britain."

"The Wizen-whatsit?" Harry was extremely confused right now.

"Wizengamot. It's the high court of law and parliament in Magical Britain. So your Magical Guardian didn't explain all this to you?" Neville asked just to clarify.

"No. I don't have a Magical Guardian. I live with my muggle Aunt and Uncle, they're my Guardians." Harry said.

He shifted uncomfortably when Neville just stared at him in shock.

"Ummm… Neville?" Harry asked him?

Neville shook himself and felt his cheeks go pink. "Sorry, it's just… You grew up with muggles?" Neville couldn't get his head around that. Harry Potter, Heir of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter, Boy-Who-Lived, grew up with muggles and had not been informed of his legacy… _This is going to take a while, _Neville thought to himself.

"Yea?" Harry replied, still confused as Neville massaged the bridge of his nose.

"Ok, your magical guardian should have told you all this, and yes you would have a magical guardian, but I don't know who it is. Whoever they are, they have broken the law by not teaching you your Legacy." Neville started. "Did you go to Gringotts over the summer and talk to your account manager?"

"I went to Gringotts, yes, but I didn't speak to an account manager, I only have one vault, why would I need an account manager?" Harry queried.

Once again Neville was staring at Harry in shock. Sighing he shook his head. "Your magical guardian has a lot to answer for. As your magical guardian it's their legal responsibility to inform you of everything." Here Neville once again rubbed the bridge of his nose, nervousness forgotten in his anger that Harry had been so neglected in his Legacy.

"Ok, to start with Harry, you should write to your account manager at Gringotts. Just address it to 'The Potter Family Account Manager' and it will get to where it needs to go. In the letter ask about your accounts, for your ledger and for the Potter Grimoire. Also they should know who your magical guardian is, so ask that as well." Neville said. "You should do that now, and then I can start explaining your Legacy to you, well what I know about it anyway. Each family is different but your Grimoire should tell you all the Potter specific information you need. A family Grimoire can only be read by the Lord or Heir of the family and their spouse. Anyone else who looks will only see blank pages and if they try to take it, it will disappear back to your vault. I can teach you all the generic stuff since the Longbottom family is also one of the sacred 28."

Harry started at Neville for a few moments longer after he stopped talking before nodding and got up to go get parchment and quill to write his letter. His mind was a whirlwind of activity. He was angry that this had all seemingly been kept from him. He wanted answers and he wanted them now. He was very grateful to Neville for even approaching about this. He could have easily just ignored it and went on with his life, but no, he had come to Harry to make sure he knew.

Harry was soon back in the common room starting his letter. This turned into some calligraphy lessons when Neville looked over and saw his writing. Neville showed him how to correctly hold his quill and how to get the right amount of ink on it. Harry was extremely grateful as he'd had no idea he'd been doing either of those things wrong. Needless to say it took a bit longer than expected to get the letter written, again with Neville's help, and sent off with Hedwig, who seemed to know when Harry was ready to send his letter and came through a high up window of the common room.

People had started to come down the stairs by this point to both boys agreed to postpone the rest of the talk until they could once again be alone. Harry wasn't entirely happy having to wait but he would rather this be private for now. He would learn as much as he could about his family, his Legacy and his role in this world. With that in mind he and Neville headed down to breakfast, both agreeing not to wake Ron, hoping to get done eating before Ron got to breakfast, neither wanting to see his eating while trying to eat their own food.

The two boys went upstairs, grabbed their bags (with all their books, as they did not yet know what classes they would have today), and followed some older students down to breakfast.


	4. Chapter 4: The Reply

Chapter 4: The Reply

Harry stormed into his dorm room later that evening after dinner. He was pissed off. All day, ALL DAY, Ronald Weasley had not left him alone. If anyone tried to talk to him, Ron would interrupt rudely and the other person would leave very quickly, no one wanted to be in Ronald Weasleys presence. He had even followed him to the bathroom and didn't stop until Harry shut the stall door in his face, no way was he using the urinal while Ron was looking over his shoulder he thought with a shudder, and get this, Ron had the audacity to complain that Harry shut him out of the stall, even tried to unlock the stall door, thankfully though he wasn't very good with magic right now. Harry had so wanted to go off at him, but he wanted to find out his legacy and rights first, he didn't want to tip his hat too soon.

He angrily threw his bag on the end of his bed and sat down before closing the curtains. He pulled out his wand and cast a sticking charm on the curtain's openings on both sides, it took him a few tries, but he got it 10 minutes later. Between classes and dinner, he had gone to the library and found the spell a long with a silencing spell. Both had looked difficult, but he had been determined to learn them. He couldn't practice in the library because, one, it was the library, and two, as usual Ron was there complaining loudly about being there and trying to get Harry to leave with him. Eventually, though thankfully after he'd found what he needed, Madam Pince had stormed over, having tried to shush Ron several times, and threw them both out. Harry frowned at that, he hadn't made any noise and was a bit annoyed at getting thrown out, maybe he could talk to Madam Pince about it. With a nod he decided to do just that next chance he got.

Harry went to lay down only to wack his head on something on his pillow. Sitting up quickly he saw a package, on closer inspection he recognised the Gringotts symbol. He had wanted to ask Neville how long he thought a reply would take, as it hadn't occurred to him to ask when sending the letter, but he hadn't had a chance to talk to him again. He was surprised and happy that the reply had come so fast, he had expected at least a couple of days wait.

Crossing his legs, he picked up the parcel and put it in front of him. He pulled the strings holding the covering together and opened the package. Inside was a letter and 2 books. He put aside the letter and picked up the top book first and saw that it had POTTER with a crest behind it and realised it was his family Grimoire. He slowly ran his hand over the cover with tears in his eyes, this was his legacy, this was his family. Reluctantly he put it aside and picked up the second book, which also had the crest on it, along with the word HEIRS. He, also reluctantly, put this book aside as well and picked up the letter and opened it, pulling out the thick parchment, hoping it would give him the information he so desperately wanted.

_Dear Heir Potter_

_Please allow me to introduce myself, my name is Griphook, I took you down to your vaults this past summer. I tried to speak with you when we met but Rubeus Hagrid was there and I am not a liberty to discuss your personal matters in the presence of others. For this, I apologise. I did try to send you a letter after your visit, along with previous attempts over the years but each and every time the letters are unanswered and giving your letter to me today, I have to assume you have not received your correspondence from Gringotts. This is highly illegal, and rest assured that Gringotts will be looking into this. _

_In response to your queries, I have included not only your family Grimoire, but also the Potter Heirs Journal. The Heirs Journal is a journal with entries from all previous heirs. The are giving this journal upon receiving their Hogwarts acceptance letter, if their father is the lord and keep it until becoming Head of the family. If the father is still the heir, the son will not get the journal until the father becomes Head of the family. Upon becoming Head of the family, you then receive the Lord's journal. The journals are used for writing whatever you want in it. Daily entries, lessons, ideas, inventions, etc. Only the Lord and Heir of the Potter family can read these journals and the pages are never ending. If you want a specific person's entries, say that persons name and open the book, if you want a specific year or date do the same but say the year or date required. Otherwise just open it, it will start from the start the first time it is opened by you without any commands. From then on, it will open automatically to the last read page._

_As for your magical guardian, who if I may say, has grossly misused his position, he is none other than Albus Dumbledore. Since your letter this morning, we have looked into your accounts and found that your previous account manager, Gutlock, was illegally letting Mr Dumbledore more access to your trust vault than was allowed. Gutlock passed the month before you entered Gringotts this summer and I had only just, the week before you came, become your account manager. I do apologize for not finding these discrepancies sooner, but rest assured they have now been found and are being investigated. I would like to hold off on any actions until we can meet in person. _

_I am not sure whether you are aware, but you can claim emancipation from your 12__th__ birthday under the Old Laws. We shall discuss this when we meet. I have included a portkey, being this letter, to bring you to Gringotts when you have the time, preferable a time that will not tip off Mr Dumbledore, I would advise after going to bed one night. You are welcome to bring along council if you wish to. _

_May your gold flow freely,_

_Griphook_

_Potter Account Manger_

_Gringotts_

Harry re-read the letter a few times before deciding to get up early in the morning to talk to Neville. Hopefully Neville would come with him to Gringotts. Griphook sounded helpful but he'd feel better having someone who grew up in the magical world there with him, and Neville was the only one he trusted right now.

_Maybe Friday night would be a good time?_ He thought to himself as he put aside the letter to start reading the Heirs journal, figuring it was the best place to start.


	5. Chapter 5: Organising

**Chapter 5: Organising**

Harry woke the next morning grateful for the spells he had learned the night before, not realising that there was no way he should have been able to cast them, as unknown to him he had found the hardest of those types of spells. He stretched and got up opening his curtains, again not realising that the particular spell he used needed a counter spell to open and that he was subconsciously doing it wandlessly. He looked around the room and noticed that Neville's bed was empty, so he got up to shower in the hopes that he could find Neville after to talk.

As he walked into the shower, he found Neville just straightening his tie.

"Hey Neville, I'm really sorry about Ron's attitude yesterday, I wanted to talk to you, but I don't want to cause trouble right now until I know more about what's going on. Could we talk once I'm done in here?" Harry asked hopefully.

"Hey Harry. It's fine, I understand. You don't control Ronald's actions and one day it will come back to bite him. Sure, we can talk. I'll meet you in the common room." Neville said before they said their goodbyes and parted ways for the moment.

Harry entered the common room half hour later; he had gotten distracted by the soothing hot water in the shower and had spent longer than he had wanted getting ready.

After looking around the Common Room a few times he spotted Neville in a scheduled corner reading a book, so he headed over that way and sat down to wait for Neville to finish, as he didn't want to interrupt.

A few moments later Neville glanced up, looked back at his book, jumped slightly and glanced up again.

"Oh, hey Harry, sorry I was just reading our herbology book." Neville said sheepishly while closing the book and putting it to one side.

"It's fine Neville, it looked like you were really into the book and I didn't want to interrupt." Harry replied.

"I really enjoy herbology, I have greenhouses back home that I look after." Neville said passionately.

Harry smiled at his enthusiasm. "Well that's awesome. Maybe you can tell me more about your greenhouses at some point. I hope I find something that I'm as passionate about as you are about herbology." Harry said wistfully.

He truly would love to find a subject he absolutely loved. Right now, he thought Potions sounded awesome…. But the teacher didn't sound as good from the rumours he was hearing. He hoped they were wrong, but he had a sinking feeling, with the number of new rumours every day, that there may be some truth in them.

"I'd be happy to and there will be something that you are passionate about Harry." Neville soothed. "Do you have an idea of what you might like? I know we haven't had all our classes yet but maybe there's something you like the sound of?"

"Well… I love the sound of Potions. I know its kind of different but I actually liked to cook when I was younger." Harry said, thinking back to the Dursleys, he never told them he liked cooking because he didn't want them to stop him from doing it, and if they knew he liked it, that's just what they'd do. "but I've heard so many rumours about the Potions Professor that I'm not sure how it'll go." He finished sadly.

"Yeah, I've heard about Professor Snape too." Neville said. "If my Gran is correct, which she usually is, then the rumours are true."

Harry slumped a bit. Apparently Professor Snape favoured his own house and while he disliked Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, he apparently absolutely hated Gryffindor. Not to mention the look the Professor gave him at his sorting, as he'd walked towards the hat he had nervously glanced towards the teachers table. The majority had been smiling but Professor Snape had been glaring at him with a sneer on his face and hatred in his eyes. He had seen similar in the Dursleys eyes so he knew what it was. Potions suddenly sounded horrible.

Neville noticed his slump and said, "I know it may not be what you expected but if in class he doesn't teach properly, as the others have said, then you can do self-study. You couldn't do practical sadly as the only place is Snape's classroom but you can at least get the theory down." Neville suggested hopefully.

Harry sighed and nodded. "Anyway," Harry said "I got a response from my Gringotts Account Manager, Griphook, and he invites me for a meeting to discuss things and says I can bring someone with me. I was hoping maybe you would come?"

"Of course, but how will we leave the school. I doubt the headmaster will let us go." Neville said.

"The letter is a portkey and Griphook suggested one night after everyone is asleep, so I was thinking Friday night?" Harry said, then his eyes widened, "but I thought portkeys didn't work in Hogwarts." He said, starting to panic.

"Wizard portkeys don't, Goblin magic is different and will work. The reason its not a problem is because the Goblins are pretty strict on who they give portkeys too, it's extremely rare and adult will be given a portkey let alone a student at Hogwarts, so its not really considered." Neville explained, "and I think Friday night is the perfect time. We can meet somewhere at, say, midnight?"

"I can put locking charms on your curtains and we can go from behind my curtains if you want?" Harry offered.

Neville opened his mouth, shut it, then opened it again, before shutting it, then said "Uhm, yeah, that sounds great." While privately thinking _Harry knows locking charms already? I wonder what one? I'll hold off on asking, if he's anything like me he won't try if he knows its possibly out of his range of learning._

"Great, I'll see you on Friday night then." Harry said, before thinking about it and backtracking and saying, "I don't mean I don't want to see you before then I just don't want to cause any problems while I still don't know all that's going on and with Ronald around…." He trailed off his rambling and blushed, ducking his head.

"It's fine Harry, I understand." Neville said. "Don't worry though, with your position you have every right to reject someone's friendship with no repercussions, especially if they are acting as Ronald is and Ronald, being pureblood and raised in the magical world, should know this. But I agree you should hold off until you know more so that you know how to do it properly."

Harry let out a sign of relief and nodded.

The first people started coming down the dorm stairs at that point, so both boys grabbed their stuff and headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Friday afternoon after classes, Harry was once again storming into his dorm room. He threw himself and his bag on his bed and locked the curtains again. So far classes had been pretty good, except Defence with Professor Quirrell who stuttered a lot, History with Professor Binns who was boring as anything and, as he feared, Potions.

Professor Snape had singled him out and asked him questions above first year level, and he knew this because he had read his Potions book cover to cover. It had confirmed his worst fears, that Professor Snape was a horrible teacher.

And to add to all that, RONALD WEASLEY. He had continued to closely follow him around. Harry had even outright told him not to, ESPECIALLY when he was going to the bathroom, but Ronald had ignored him and continued to do it. He had also continued to alienate people who tried to talk to Harry. Thankfully, for the most part, Harry had managed to negate this by taking names, people always started by introducing themselves thankfully, and sending them an explanation and apology letter the night of the incidents. So far that had placated a lot of them.

Harry was now looking forward to the Gringotts meeting tonight. He really hoped he'd be able to get the answers he needed. He decided to have a nap so he'd be more awake at the meeting, so set an alarm and laid down, falling asleep quickly.


	6. Chapter 6: Getting to Gringotts

Chapter 6: Getting to Gringotts

Harry woke a few hours later and, after stretching, got up. After looking around to make sure the dorm was empty, he went to his trunk to get a change of clothes. He opened his trunk and went to grab some clothes only to freeze and then have a closer look at the items in his trunk… they had been moved, he was sure of it. Anger started to boil in him, was someone going through his trunk? He had a look through before he realised all the sweets he had gotten from the train were gone and he had a good idea who was the one who had taken them. _I can not WAIT to break ties with that stealing bully,_ he thought to himself angrily.

Harry took a deep breath to calm down, there was nothing he could do abut what was taken, but what he could do was make sure it didn't happen again. For now he had a meeting to prepare for and he needed to get his things ready while the dorm was empty. He grabbed what he needed, closed his trunk and cast the same locking charm on it that he used on his curtains, still unaware how advanced it was. He tried to open it to make sure it was locked and it was, not realising again that a counter charm was needed to unlock it and because he didn't want it unlocked, just wanted to make sure it was locked, he didn't subconsciously open it like he did with his curtains.

He put his clothes under his pillow before ducking into the bathroom for a quick shower and changed into clean pyjamas to wait for the dorm to fall asleep that night. As he came out of the bathroom he found Neville sitting on his bed.

After looking around the dorm to make sure it was just the two of them he explained what he'd done to Neville who agreed it was a good idea and did the same.

Harry sat on his bed with a book, curtains open for now, when Neville spoke up.

"What's wrong Harry?" he asked, then clarified at Harrys confused look, "You look a bit.. uhhh… annoyed."

"Oh." Harry said, before sighing, "Someone, pretty sure Ronald, has gone through my trunk. Everything was moved around and all the sweets I had from the train are gone." Harry explained, before telling Neville about the train ride and Ron wanting all the sweets.

Neville looked shocked for a second before saying in disgust, "Stealing from the Heir of a Most Ancient & Most Noble House. Didn't his parents teach him anything. You could have him as a servant just for that."

Harry looked shocked. "What do you mean?"

"You're the Heir of the Most Ancient & Most Noble House of Potter." Neville reminded him, "There are certain rules that are to be followed. Both legal on the books laws and unwritten rules. This stealing is a legal one. Anyone caught stealing from a Most Ancient & Most Noble House is given to that House as a servant to do with as they please, the perpetrator has no rights after that, they belong to the House as long as they live. All purebloods are supposed to know this. Hell its public domain, the laws, anyone can look it up. Ronald better pull his head in and quick"

Harry nodded with a thoughtful look. Before anything else could be said the door opened and the rest of the guys came in chatting loudly. Harry shot Neville a look that said, "I'll see you later" and prepared to close his curtains.

"Hey mate." Ronald said as he threw himself onto Harry's bed. "What are you doing hiding away. You should be hanging out with me. Let's play chess." Ronald demanded before hopping of the bed to grab his chess set, which gave Harry the opportunity to close his curtains, lock and silence them. He just didn't want to deal with Ronald right now.

Harry missed Ronald's temper tantrum, though Neville would tell him later, about him locking Ronald out.

* * *

At 11.45pm when his alarm when off, Harry quickly stuck his head out the curtains to check all were asleep, which they were, before ducking back in to get changed. He then slipped out to see if Neville was ready, he was, so Harry locked Neville's curtains, missing the shocked look on Neville's face, before they both got onto Harry's bed and Harry locked and silenced his own curtains.

"Thanks for coming with me Neville." He said as he pulled the letter from his pocket.

"No problem Harry." Neville replied as he, too, grabbed hold of the letter.

Moments later they were in an office. The walls were stone and there was a lot of gold decorations everywhere. Behind the desk was a goblin who Harry recognised as Griphook.

"Heir Potter, Heir Longbottom, welcome. Thank you for coming." Griphook said as he stood from his seat in greeting.

"Account Manager Griphook, thank you for inviting us." Neville responded with a bow, which Harry quickly followed suit and copied what Neville said.

"Please have a seat." Griphook said, motioning to the two seats in front of the desk. He waited for them to be seated before once again seating himself.

"Now, Heir Potter, just to clarify so that there are no misunderstandings, Heir Longbottom is here as your chosen council." Griphook asked.

"Yes Account Manger Griphook." Harry agreed.

Harry sat there in the chair nervous as anything. He really hoped this meeting went well but that was to be seen.

Griphook nodded and shuffled some papers on his desk before sitting up straight and looking them right in the eye.


End file.
